Howdy Neighbors!

Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. We are pleased to have American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company as a regular sponsor of our daily update- click here to go to their AFR web site to learn more about their efforts to serve rural America!

It is also great to have as an annual sponsor on our daily email Johnston Enterprises- proud to be serving agriculture across Oklahoma and around the world since 1893. One of the great success stories of the Johnston brand is Wrangler Bermudagrass- the most widely planted true cold-tolerant seeded forage bermudagrass in the United States. For more on Johnston Enterprises- click here for their brand new website!

And we are proud to have P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy as one of our regular sponsors of our daily email update. P & K is the premiere John Deere dealer in Oklahoma, with ten locations to serve you, and the P & K team are excited about their new Wind Power program, as they offer Endurance Wind Power wind turbines. Click here for more from the P&K website.

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Lucas admits that he does not like some of the major cuts being talked about by both the White House and the GOP Leadership in the USDA Discretionary Programs. He continues to tell House Leadership that the actual programs in the Farm Bill need to be left alone- and decided upon with the writing of new farm legislation in 2012.

We also talked about the regulatory atmosphere seen within the Administration- for example, he continues to warn Secretary Vilsack that the GIPSA Rule on the marketing of livestock is unacceptable as proposed.

We also talked about the Lesser Prairie Chicken and the possible listing of the bird on the Endangered Species List. And, we talked about the attack on farm policy that continues by those who want to take away the Direct Payment monies from the farm bill baseline, as well as the possible timeline of when the next farm bill might be written. Addressing that- Lucas continues to believe that we would be better off to get a farm bill written next spring and laid on the desk of President Obama as he runs for reelection next fall. He believes that Obama might decide to veto a bill if he were reelected and was in the White House in 2013.

Click on the LINK below for our webstory on our conversation- as well as the actual conversation of just over 13 minutes that you can listen to.

Click here for our thirteen minutes plus with the Chairman of the House Ag Committee- Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas.

The Chairman of the House Ag Committee, Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas, told the joint meeting "The issue before us today is extremely time-sensitive. If we fail to get bipartisan legislation to the President's desk by April 9, an unquestionably naïve and irresponsible court order will be implemented, which will impose a disastrous burden on government budgets and equally ruinous costs on small businesses."

He added that "EPA has administered a robust regulatory program for pesticides under the authority of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). It is my belief that sufficient authority exists under this act to balance the risks and benefits of pesticide applications."

Click here for more on this hearing and an audio report on the efforts to rein in this judicial ruling that could mean double permitting under two separate federal laws for ag producers.

Landowners in northwestern Oklahoma may be impacted more than ever by the Lesser Prairie Chicken than ever before as the US Fish & Wildlife Service has started the process to list the Lesser Prairie Chicken as "endangered". The process will take about 18 months and the likely result is that they will prescribe stocking rates and other management practices for producers, plus it is likely to affect wind energy development, and perhaps oil and gas drilling.

Speakers will include Ken Collins, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Tulsa; Kenneth Hitch, Steven Glasgow, and Richard Zetterberg, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Alva Gregory, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Service, and Ron Voth, Oklahoma Wildlife & Prairie Heritage Alliance. Mr. Collins is expected to discuss the implications of an Endangered Species Act Listing, followed by presentations from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation about the habitat programs that are available to assist producers in improving habitat conditions for the Lesser Prairie Chicken.

Click here for more details about the meetings- and how you can RSVP to help give them a count for the evening meal that is planned.

The week of George Washington's birthday was designated by the organization as National FFA Week in 1947. During the week, individual chapters initiate events to promote FFA and agriculture in their classrooms and communities. Events include community service projects, educational lessons for elementary students and promotional programs for students, teachers, and alumni.

The National FFA Organization is a national youth organization of 523,309 student members - all preparing for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture-as part of 7,487 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

Click here for our story on National FFA week- which includes a link to an interview we did a couple of months back with National President Riley Pagett as he represents Oklahoma as National FFA President

The group asked consumers, 'How do you feel about Meatless Mondays.' Out of the 274 responses received, nearly 20 percent of the respondents fully support the concept while nearly half said they support a balance of all types of food, including meat. One-third of the respondents indicated meat should be a regular feature in their diet.

There were several interesting comments that consumers offered the group- a few supportive of Meatless Mondays- but most were not. For example, one consumer offered "Meatless Mondays" has nothing to do with a healthy diet. It's a publicity stunt by those who are against animal agriculture."

Another consumer adds "I am not a farmer but realize nearly all occupations are greatly impacted by the production of meat. And besides, meat is packed with nutrients that are hard to get from anything else."

Click here to jump to a website called BestFoodFacts where you can read more comments and get details of the study we have cited.

"It's an honor for Chesapeake to partner again with the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts," said Tom Price, Jr., Chesapeake Senior Vice President - Corporate Development and Oklahoma County Landowner/Cooperator. "Donating this truck is a way we at Chesapeake can help highlight the importance of environmental responsibility and further the conservation work which is critical to maintaining a high quality of life in our state."

"We are so appreciative of Chesapeake Energy and their continuous support of Conservation in Oklahoma," Clay Pope, Executive Director of OACD said. "Through the company's continued support of conservation programs and now this latest donation, Chesapeake is once again showing their strong commitment to the natural resources of Oklahoma. We are so happy to have them again assisting us in accomplishing our goals of conserving and protecting our states soil, water, air and wildlife habitats."

Click here for more on the Chesapeake Energy Support for Oklahoma Conservation Efforts.

All day long, KTJS offers up country music and great information, including our agricultural reports from the Radio Oklahoma Network. They broadcast on the AM band at 1420- and they are one of the few radio stations that has been consistently serving farmers and ranchers for well over 35 years.

When we first came to Oklahoma as a very young farm broadcast reporter- I remember the first survey of farmers and ranchers listening to the radio that our network conducted. The year was 1979- and the key radio stations across the state were all AM stations- and KTJS was one of the strongest rated stations in the state- and especially so in southwestern Oklahoma. There are a lot more radio signals today on AM but especially on FM- but KTJS continues to serve agriculture- and farmers in that region continue to tune in.

Click here for more details about KTJS- including times when they are carrying our RON Ag Radio Reports.

We also invite you to check out our website at the link below to check out an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe.

Click here to check out WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com

Here are some links we will leave in place on an ongoing basis- Click on the name of the report to go to that link:
Our Daily Market Wrapup from the Radio Oklahoma Network with Ed Richards and Tom Leffler- analyzing the Futures Markets from the previous Day-
Ron on RON Markets as heard on K101 mornings with cash and futures reviewed- includes where the Cash Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets Etc.
Previous Day's Wheat Market Recap- Two Pager From The Kansas City Board of Trade looks at all three US Wheat Futures Exchanges with extra info on Hard Red Winter Wheat and the why of that day's market.
Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- As Reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture. <
The National Daily Feeder & Stocker Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
The National Daily Slaughter Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
Finally, Here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.